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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393251">Future &amp; Fireworks</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/pseuds/KrysKrossZee'>KrysKrossZee</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Quinzee's Panevi11e 2020 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arranged Marriage, F/M, Fireworks, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forced Marriage, Gen, Light Angst</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:14:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,423</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28393251</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KrysKrossZee/pseuds/KrysKrossZee</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It's New Year's Eve and for once Pansy is looking forward to the future.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Daphne Greengrass &amp; Pansy Parkinson, Neville Longbottom/Pansy Parkinson</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Quinzee's Panevi11e 2020 [19]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988443</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Let the New Year Slither In</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Future &amp; Fireworks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Thank you to Draco's Den for hosting this fest and for providing the perfect prompt to finish off 2020 for my Paneville series!</p><p>Prompts used-</p><p>Draco's Den Slither In To The New Year: Pansy Parkinson. Fireworks.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It felt right to want to welcome in the new year in this way, just the five of them - or well, the six of them if you counted Daphne's unborn baby. Verbena was hosting a party over at the Parkinson House, one that she was holding just to spite Narcissa Malfoy, but Pansy had decided that she didn't want to attend, mai my because doing so would mean that she couldn't spend her New Year with her boyfriend - and her fiancé would be unable to bring his own boyfriend. Their situation was a unique one, and it was one best saved for the privacy of the Greengrass estate.</p><p> </p><p>Somehow Daphne had managed to arrange for her parents not to be home - though where they were she hadn't said. Pansy had to wonder if they were at the Malfoy party still working on trying to convince Narcissa to allow her son to marry Daphne, so that her child would not be born a bastard, but Pansy really hoped that that was not the case. Draco was not someone that either of them wanted to end up with, though both of them were well aware that Daphne's clock was ticking. She had to marry someone to protect her family name or her trust would be cut off, and her options weren't exactly vast.</p><p> </p><p>Part of Pansy wanted to tell the girl to let them take her trust, she and Theo could give her the financial support that Daphne and the baby needed, but at the same time, Pansy knew what it would mean to be completely cut off from her family and in turn from her sister. Daphne's sister meant the absolute world to her and Pansy couldn't even begin to imagine a world where Astoria wasn't by Daphne's side.</p><p> </p><p>"Pans?" Neville's soft voice snapped her out of her thoughts and brought her back to earth. "Are you okay there?"</p><p> </p><p>It was only then that the dark-haired girl realised that she had been staring into space. She turned to face him, almost spilling the glass of champagne that she had been pouring for herself, but she managed to catch it before she spilt it all over the Greengrass' cream carpet, and Neville caught her.</p><p> </p><p>"Steady there." He hummed, a soft chuckle escaping him. She had been drinking with Percy for most of the evening - having been surprised with how much she had in common with the man. He was an interesting man with a good work ethic and some intriguing views on the Ministry and how he could reform the entire wizarding world, views which she had enjoyed listening to while they had been drinking together. She had bitten her tongue concerning her own views on pureblood society and reminded herself that Percy hadn't grown up surrounded by the same ideals that she and Theo had. She hadn't had the heart to break it to him that reconstructing the way that two entire generations of people thought would be almost completely impossible.</p><p> </p><p>Changing the future seemed like a far more attainable goal. Making sure that the world was a better place for Daphne's baby and for any future children that Pansy may have was something that she was happy to work towards however, and it was somewhat exciting to think that she was going to have someone better prepared by her side to be able to do that.</p><p> </p><p>"I think I need some fresh air." Pansy said as she wrapped her arms around Neville's neck, her glass hanging loosely in her hand. "Come outside with me?"</p><p> </p><p>Neville blinked a couple of times before pressing a kiss to the middle of her forehead. "It's almost midnight, don't you want to be with the others?"</p><p> </p><p>Pansy shook her head before she stole a kiss from him and downed her drink. "I only want to be with you." She told him as she stepped back and took his hand. She loved her best friend and her fiancé, and she was starting to accept Percy, but considering that this was the last year that she was ever going to enter as an unmarried woman, she knew that she wanted to enter it with only the man that she truly loved.</p><p> </p><p>Neville didn't protest and happily followed her out into the icy night air. It was enough to sober Pansy up a little bit, which had been her original intention, though spending alone time with the love of her life was another intention.</p><p> </p><p>"Are you sure you're okay, Pans?" Neville asked after a few moments in which they just walked down the path in the back garden, heading out into the unknown - there was only the light of the moon to guide them. She didn't let this bother her as she held onto his arm, and though she could feel herself swaying as they walked, she found that she still felt safe with him.</p><p> </p><p>"I'm more than okay." She told him, her voice as calm as the night that surrounded them. "I think for the first time in a long time, I'm actually happy." She said quietly, not sure when her brain had made the switch from being hopeful for the future to being sentimental, but she wasn't going to question it. She knew that with Neville she could let her guard down easily, but that wasn't something that she felt she needed to do today.</p><p> </p><p>"Happy, huh?" Neville mused, his fingers moving to caress her cheek now that they had paused in their walking and had turned to face each other. She could just about make out the twinkling of his eyes in the dim light and the only thought that passed through her mind was that he was the most beautiful person that she had ever come across. </p><p> </p><p>She didn't manage to answer him with words, but she leaned up and pressed a soft kiss to his lips before deepening the kiss as she wrapped her arms around his neck again. She only distantly heard the fireworks that were fracking and popping somewhere, signalling that the new year was here. She ignored them, however, the only thing that mattered was that she was there with him. She had no idea what the next year had in store for them, but as long as they were together, she didn't care.</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p> </p><p>"Are you coming inside?"</p><p> </p><p>Pansy glanced over her shoulder at the husband that she had been trying to give space so that he could spend alone time with Percy who was standing in the doorway, watching her where she sat on the porch step. Her arms were wrapped around her legs tightly in a desperate attempt to keep herself grounded without having to resort to any of her old coping mechanisms. She knew that she should go with him, that it was freezing out here, but at the same time she didn't want to miss the fireworks. She hadn't watched them last year and the three hundred and sixty five days that had followed had been some of the toughest of her life.</p><p> </p><p>"Pans. Please come inside." Theo's voice was desperate now as he reached out to take her hand into his own. "You shouldn't be alone."</p><p> </p><p>Pansy wanted to laugh at that one. Despite the fact that she lived with her husband and her boyfriend - and her husband's boyfriend stayed every other night - she didn't think that she had ever felt more alone before. But she couldn't laugh because although she knew that Theo was hurting just as much as she was, she knew that he wouldn't understand the irony of what he had just said.</p><p> </p><p>So instead she let him take her hand and pull her to her feet just as the first of the fireworks erupted over their heads. "Happy New Year." She muttered, her voice flat before she pressed a kiss to his cheek and walked past him into the house to look for Neville. It wasn't his fault that she was feeling this way, after all.</p><p> </p><p>**</p><p> </p><p>"Let's go wish the others a Happy New Year." Pansy hummed once the fireworks had stopped banging and flashing above their heads. She hated to think of Daphne believing that she was alone for New Year after all. She needed to wrap her arms around her best friend and make the girl feel as loved as she did at that moment - which really was a sign of how much champagne Pansy had consumed.</p><p> </p><p>"Whatever you want, love." Neville said softly as he pressed one last kiss to her nose before he followed her back up the garden path towards the house.</p><p> </p><p>There was something about those four words together that sent a pleasant chill down Pansy's spine. She didn't know how to explain it, but she supposed it was all to do with the fact that all her life, Pansy had had to do things for other people because that's what those other people wanted, but Neville was actually there to listen to her and the things that she wanted.</p><p> </p><p>Daphne was waiting for them just inside the backdoor, or at least that was what she was pretending that she was doing as she quickly hid a packet of something in the nearby cupboard. It amused Pansy that Daphne felt that she had to hide anything from her, especially in her condition and in her own house.</p><p> </p><p>"There you two are." She hummed, sounding more than a little tired. "I wondered where you two had gotten to. I'm about to head to bed."</p><p> </p><p>Pansy paused for a moment before she gave Neville's hand a squeeze. She knew that he would understand that she needed to go with Daphne. She has a feeling that the girl wasn't feeling as loved as the four people that she had invited to spend New Year's with her.</p><p> </p><p>"I'll come with you. I've had far too much champagne." She said softly. She turned to Neville to press a kiss to his cheek. "I'll see you in the morning." She whispered. She hoped that he'd spend the night but she knew that was probably too weird for him to consider now that she was all but abandoning him.</p><p> </p><p>Neville just squeezed her hand back and gave her a smile in return. "Sleep well, love." He said softly before he let her go.</p><p> </p><p>Pansy took Daphne's hand instead and the two of them headed up to Daphne's room where they all but crashed onto her bed. Pansy pushed her usual aversion to touch away and wrapped her arms around the girl, holding her close as she tried to give the girl the comfort that Pansy would have needed if she were in the same situation.</p><p> </p><p>Daphne was silent but Pansy didn't need her to say anything. Words weren't required when their friendship was what it was. Pansy did want to pry, to see what was going through her mind but she didn't think that Daphne would appreciate all the questions when she was so clearly exhausted and it wasn't as if she was full of alcohol the same way that Pansy was.</p><p> </p><p>They lay there for a while in each other's company before Daphne broke the silence with a low hum. She rolled over on the bed and turned to face Pansy. Her eyes were sparkling as if full of tears and Pansy's heart was hammering in her chest as she slowly came to terms with the fact that there was very little that she could possibly do to make the girl feel even remotely better. The situation that Daphne was in was something that Pansy could only begin to imagine, it wasn't as if she could even begin to relate - her arranged marriage was very different to the one that the Greengrasses were currently trying to set in place for Daphne.</p><p> </p><p>"Daffy?" She whispered as she gently swept a strand of hair back from the brunette's face. She didn't know what the tears were about, and part of her was actually terrified to find out, but she knew that she had to ask, she had to make sure that her best friend was okay, or at least was going to be okay eventually.</p><p> </p><p>"I want what you have, Pans. And I don't mean Neville. Theo… He's been one of my best friends for as long as I can remember. I always thought that when it came down to it, we'd be the ones getting married." Daphne took a break, her eyes fixed on Pansy's. They weren't full of hurt like she expected to see in them, however, but just full of fear. "He's a good person and you're so lucky to have him, I hope you know that." She whispered before she cleared her throat. "I know my parents will find someone for me, I just hope that it's someone that I can bare to be in the same room with."</p><p> </p><p>"Whoever gets you as their wife is the lucky one, Daffy." She said softly before she leaned forward to press a kiss to Daphne's forehead. "You are wonderful and anyone who can't see that is clearly blind."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm scared." She whispered, her voice shaking more than a little and it almost made Pansy want to back out from her engagement to Theo. Almost. Her fear of her own mother put a stop to that thought.</p><p> </p><p>"I know." She whispered back. "But you're not alone, Daffy. You might not be getting married to Theo, but he's still going to be in your life and in your baby's life. As am I, and Neville is super excited to get to be an uncle. Those were his words, by the way."</p><p> </p><p>"I'm really not going to be alone?" Daphne asked quietly, rolling over again now and facing away from Pansy who wrapped her arms back around her.</p><p> </p><p>"Have you ever been alone before?" Pansy asked softly as she gave Daphne a small squeeze. "You won't ever get rid of me. And I'm going to keep trying to prove that to you for as long as we both live."</p><p> </p><p>Daphne fell into silence again, or maybe she fell asleep, Pansy couldn't quite he sure, all she knew was that she was left listening to the sounds of her best friend breathing and the sounds of the fireworks which were still crackling away outside. Pansy had to wonder how long they would keep going for, not that they were bothering her. She quite enjoyed listening to fireworks and having them help her to welcome in the new year.</p><p> </p>
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